Sergeant Wilbur E. Colyer was a soldier in the U.S. Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions on October 9, 1918 near Verdun, France during World War I. At the time he was serving with Company A, 1st Engineers, 1st Division. Colyer was 20 years old.
2 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.
Colyer was born on March 5, 1898 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to South Ozone, Queens County, New York. Colyer died on October 10, 1918 in France, at the age of 20. He is buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. His medal is held by 1st Infantry Division Museum at Cantigny, Wheaton, IL.
Colyer is one of 132 Medal of Honor recipients from World War I and one of 678 credited to New York.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Volunteering with two other soldiers to locate machine-gun nests, Sgt. Colyer advanced on the hostile positions to a point where he was half surrounded by the nests, which were in ambush. He killed the gunner of one gun with a captured German grenade and then turned this gun on the other nests, silencing all of them before he returned to his platoon. He was later killed in action.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: World War I.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- March 5, 1898Born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
- October 9, 1918Act of valor — near Verdun, FranceAge 20. Company A, 1st Engineers, 1st Division
- October 10, 1918Died in FranceAge 20.
- Resting placeCypress Hills National CemeteryBrooklyn, New York
Biography
Wilbur E. Colyer (March 5, 1898 – October 10, 1918) was an American soldier serving in the U.S. Army during World War I who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.
From the Wikipedia article “Wilbur E. Colyer”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
Named in his honor
- Sergeant Colyer Square — square
